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NCSU Agriculture Institute has Lobby Day
Last week, a group of students and faculty from NCSU's Agriculture Institute spent a day talking to lawmakers and seeing first-hand how the NC legislature can affect their livelihoods.
Dr. Barbara Kirby, director of the Agricultural Institute, and Dr. John Russ, an instructor, accompanied the group of students.
The NC Pork Council's lobbying team was proud to serve as their guides for the day. The group met with Speaker Joe Hackney, House Agriculture Committee chair Rep. Dewey Hill, Senate Agriculture and Environment Committee chair Sen. Bob Atwater, Commissioner Troxler, and their own hometown Senate and House members. A few people were even invited by their representative to attend a bill signing ceremony and watch Gov. Bev Perdue sign the law that created Grandfather Mountain State Park!
The main item on their agenda for the day was educating lawmakers about the Agriculture Institute and what kind of opportunities it provides for those folks who are going to make a career in agriculture. Their message was well-received - especially when they learned that the NCSU Agriculture Institute is ranked #1 in the nation among schools awarding associates degrees in agriculture and ag-related fields!
NCPC knows the value in getting young people interested in the legislative process and hopes that these young men and women will carry forward what they learned and become great advocates for agriculture in the public policy arena.
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 Archer in New Role with NCPC
Jan Archer has joined the NC Pork Council (NCPC) in a part-time contract role to lead our producer education and outreach efforts. She comes to this new role with a diverse swine production background having worked in various type and size production systems.
Jerry Hardesty, who has contracted with NCPC since 1994 as coordinator of education and development, will continue to play an important role for the Council as he works primarily in a public relations and public policy capacity for the rest of 2009.
Jan is a graduate of Michigan State University with a bachelor's of science degree in animal science. She and her husband, Jack, own and operate a 1200-sow farm producing weaned pigs for TDM Farms.
In addition to serving on the NC Pork Council board of directors since 2007, Jan is a PQA Plus advisor and served on the National Pork Board's PQA Plus Beta Team. This team was responsible for final evaluation and testing of the PQA Plus program before its release in 2007. She was a member of the Pork Leadership Academy class of 2007-08 and was recently elected to a seat on the NPB nominating committee.
Jan's role with the Council will center on developing educational programs directed primarily at producers. In the short-term, one of her priorities will be the delivery of PQA Plus, including using her bi-lingual skills in these educational efforts. She is planning a mock PQA Plus site assessment for producers and will be announcing those details soon.
For producers who wish to contact Jan about training or educational opportunities, she can be reached by email at jarcher3@nc.rr.com or you call the Council office at 919-781-0361.
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 NC Pork Folks Goes to Washington!
The National Pork Producers Council held their annual Spring Legislative Action Conference in Washington, DC, during the last week of March. Attending on behalf of NCPC were Don Butler, Deborah Johnson, Ben Outlaw, and George Pettus. The week before, staff member Angie Whitener went to DC to meet with staff from a number of NC's congressional offices as well.
NC Senator Richard Burr was the speaker at the closing breakfast for the conference. He met privately with Deborah, Don, Ben, and George after he addressed the NPPC group.
Over those two trips, NCPC representatives were able to meet with 14 out of our 15 congressional offices - either with staff or with the actual member of Congress!
Additionally, we were pleased to see Reps. Miller, Etheridge, Coble, and Watt attend the NPPC Rack of Pork Reception!
NPPC President and NCPC board member Don Butler talks with Rep. Howard Coble.
Rep. Brad Miller, George Pettus, Don Butler, and Ben Outlaw | |
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News from WashingtonFind out what's going on in Washington that affects the pork industry. Click here to keep up to date on NPPC's press releases. |
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2009 NCPC Student Internship Program
The North Carolina Pork Council has implemented a program to sponsor student internships.
To learn more and to download a brochure and application click here.
Applications must be received by April 15, 2009.
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